1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a file processor, and more particularly to a file processor which couples a number of electronic files including a file with settings related to security to create one electronic file.
2. Related Art
When coupling a plurality of electronic files to create newly one file, an operator needs to cancel or invalidate several types of file management information which is set to each of the plurality of files to be coupled individually, so far.
The file management information includes security setting information. The security setting information contains information about security settings for limiting users who can modify, browse, print, etc. a file. When coupling files with effective security settings to create a new file, the operator has to cancel or invalidate the effective security settings once, and then add the plural files to one file to be newly created, and set manually the security settings which have been cancelled just before to the newly created coupled file.
As just described, the operator is obliged to cancel or invalidate manually the security settings and the like having been set to the files. Such operation can be a problem from the viewpoint of security management.
Furthermore, the operator's manual operation for resetting the security settings which once has been cancelled to the newly created coupled file raises concern about wrong operations.
JP-A-06-290214 discloses an apparatus for a filing system. This apparatus recognizes the existence of a number of files through an operator's registration operation. The apparatus can also set a “mutual connection relation” between the files designated by the operator, store the connection relation, and utilize the connection relation for file management. It is to be noted that the “connection relation” taught in JP-A-06-290214 is not an actual file coupling but a relationship which is based on the information stored separately. The information is used for managing individual files with a predefined relationship. Therefore, after giving the “connection relation”, each file having the “connection relation” remains the same in the system. The system disclosed in JP-A-06-290214 does not perform a process for creating one file which includes the plurality of files.
The system disclosed in JP-A-06-290214 can set a password to multiple files which exist separately and are connected each other with one connection relation. In other words, the single password is set to multiple files.
JP-A-2002-019198 discloses an apparatus, which manages plural files combined as a group using a similar connection relation to that of JP-A-06-290214. The apparatus of JP-A-2002-019198 can optimize the settings for printing the plural files and perform a preferable print easily even when various and different settings for printing are set to the plural files.